Fungal endophyte-enhanced phytoremediation of persistent organic pollutants: mechanisms, advances, and future prospects.
Sarma RK, Purkayastha A, Sarma B, Handique L, Nath BC
Phytoremediation
Contaminated soil from industrial sites, old farms, and roadside runoff affects the safety of gardens, parks, and food crops — and these fungal-plant teams could offer a low-cost, natural way to clean it up without bulldozers or chemicals.
Some fungi live harmlessly inside plant roots and stems, and it turns out they can help plants destroy stubborn poisons — like pesticide residues and industrial chemicals — that would otherwise stay in the soil for decades. Scientists reviewed all the ways these fungi supercharge the plant's natural detox abilities, from ramping up special enzymes to changing how the plant's roots absorb and process toxins. The research points toward using these plant-fungi partnerships as a cheap, green tool to restore polluted land.
Key Findings
Fungal endophytes enhance phytoremediation by upregulating plant detoxification enzymes and expanding root surface area for pollutant uptake.
These fungal partnerships help plants tolerate and degrade persistent organic pollutants (POPs) — including pesticides and industrial chemicals — that resist natural breakdown.
The review identifies key mechanistic pathways (enzymatic degradation, stress tolerance, and rhizosphere modification) as priority targets for biotechnological optimization.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Certain fungi living inside plants can dramatically boost those plants' ability to break down toxic industrial pollutants in contaminated soil. This review synthesizes what scientists know about how these partnerships work and where the research is headed.
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